President Jacob Zuma will publicly take an HIV test on World Aids Day, as part of a major new campaign by the government to demonstrate its commitment to the fight against the disease. Two presidency sources confirmed that Zuma will take the test to signal the shift from the ambiguous messages about HIV/Aids under Thab
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has undertaken to personally investigate the cases of HIV-infected patients allegedly refused antiretroviral treatment (ART) in the Free Sate, as reported by the Mail and Guardian two weeks ago. One of the patients, Nanaki Mohajane, died in Bloemfontein s National District Hospital in O
All Nanaki Mohajane s sister, Masentle, wanted to do was to keep her favourite sibling alive. The treatment was quite simple -- Nanaki, from Bloemfontein, was diagnosed HIV-positive in August this year. She had two classic symptoms - HIV-related TB and cryptococcal meningitis. She needed treatment for both, as well as
Free State health minister Sisi Mabe is adamant that there s no shortage of antiretroviral drugs in the Free State and that there is nothing out of stock anywhere here . Here is a transcript of the interview with the M&G Online. M&G: The TAC says people are not getting their drugs in the Free State, that there
There s a terrible tragedy that seems to have escaped a lot people with regard to South Africa post-apartheid, that the HIV/Aids pandemic is taking lives at a rate of a thousand people every day and the rate of infection is over a thousand [a day], rock star Annie Lennox says when I catch up with her at the recent Art
As recently as last year, professors Hoosen Coovadia and Salim Abdool Karim, two of South Africa s foremost HIV researchers, were two of the health department s greatest enemies. Former health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang made no secret of her intense dislike for them. While the international medical world quoted
Late payments to thousands of care-givers are weakening South Africa s battle against HIV/Aids and tuberculosis. Nearly 39 000 community care-givers are employed to cater for the 40-million South Africans who are dependent on public healthcare. The majority of care-givers (57%) are involved in critical HIV/Aids and TB-
More than two months after Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi announced a plan to accelerate the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme, to be initiated within two weeks , there have been no changes in South Africa s programme. This is despite a report released by the Health Systems Trust, which states t
South Africa should lead the way in using antiretroviral therapy (ART) as a means of HIV prevention, World Health Organisation (WHO) official Dr Reuben Granich announced at the Fifth International Aids Conference on Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Cape Town on Monday. Scientists and policy makers attending
Scientists and policymakers attending the Fifth International Aids Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Cape Town, have strongly reacted to allegations that Aids takes up such a huge chunk of international funding that it prevents other diseases from receiving financial support. Instead, they say
Women s rights activists have claimed that South African and Namibian public health doctors are making HIV-infected women infertile against their will. South Africa s Woman s Legal Centre (WLC) has documented 12 cases of South African women, most of them HIV-infected, who claim to have undergone what the health world c
One in four men in South Africa have admitted to rape and many confess to attacking more than one victim, according to a study that exposes the country s endemic culture of sexual violence. Three out of four rapists first attacked while still in their teens, the study found. One in 20 men said they had raped a woman or
The HI virus is reversing strides Namibia has made in improving children s health. The country was well on its way to reducing child mortality, but over the past decade the pandemic has annulled previous gains. Experts believe HIV/Aids will delay Namibia s child health development by at least six years. As a result, Na
South Africa has the most extensive antiretroviral treatment programme in the world -- but experts in the field are warning that it is failing and could soon collapse. Aids activist and deputy chairperson of the South African National Aids Council Mark Heywood said the 2009-10 budget for ARV provision will fall short
Activists say Aids-related deaths in the Mbeki era should be investigated. Qudsiya Karrim reports A truth and reconciliation commission on HIV/Aids to investigate thousands of unnecessary deaths during the Mbeki-era of Aids denialism should be instituted, the South African Aids conference was told this week. Former dep
Only 4% of South Africans living with HIV in South Africa are receiving preventative therapy for tuberculosis and only 1% are being screened for TB. This is despite the fact that TB remains the leading cause of death in South Africa and that deaths from the disease have tripled in the past 10 years. HIV infection is a
New national guidelines have been issued by the National Department of Health that will ensure antiretroviral therapy (ART) is prioritised for those most in need of the life-saving medications The guidelines will put an end to the selective interpretation of existing Department of Health guidelines, which have sometime
Drug manufacturing companies have come forward to help government fill a shortfall of antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs at various facilities in the Free State. Manufacturing companies have agreed to provide the ARVs and wait to receive their payments once funds are available. Yogan Pillay, deputy director general for Strate
Nosimilo Ndlovu interviewed Michel Sidibé, the new executive director of UNAids, the coordinating body of the United National in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. What is the relevance of the UNAids Joint Programme on Aids? To be the voice of the voiceless, to stand by the people affected and infected by HIV, and
A series of breakfast meetings between wellness managers from a number of well-known South African retailers, including New Clicks, which received a special commendation in the Company Partnership Award category, led to a cooperative joint venture to provide employees with better workplace healthcare initiatives. Danie
It is easy to get distracted by debates about HIV/Aids statistics and possible treatments, but the reality is that people are dying. It was with this in mind that Standard Bank adopted It s About People as its call to arms in the fight against HIV/Aids. In 2001 Standard Bank -- the corporate winner of this year s Inves
Almost 10 years after his appointment was blocked by Thabo Mbeki, Edwin Cameron has been confirmed as a judge of the Constitutional Court. Sello S Alcock quizzed him about how he sees his new job. How did you find out about your appointment to the highest court in the land and what were you doing at the time? I woke up
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